This month I’m once again highlighting strong women who are sometimes overlooked. I’ve pulled together 8 eight books featuring librarians, midwives, journalists, and mothers fighting for recognition in a world that excludes them.
As I read these books, I couldn’t help but notice they have a lot in common, even though they take place in different places. They all tell stories about strong women who find support from friends and keep going on their own. Whether the story is from long ago or happening now, they all ask the same question: what does it take for a woman to be noticed, listened to, or left alone?
If you’re looking for your next read (or eight), I hope this list gives you a little bit of everything: heartbreak, hope, mystery, and history worth remembering. Keep scrolling for the full lineup.
Books are a uniquely portable magic
-Stephen King
Historical Fiction About Strong Women and Remarkable Lives
If your book club loves historical fiction, these are great choices. Each offers strong female characters, fascinating history, and plenty of thought-provoking topics to keep the conversation going.
The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson
This is the third book in the Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series, following Packhorse Librarian Cussy Lovett as she becomes a prison librarian in 1950s Kentucky who is incarcerated for miscegenation. It explores themes of literacy, injustice, and resilience.
The story exposes the harsh, unforgiving realities of the 1950s women’s prison system. It is very emotional watching Cussy wrongfully imprisoned and stripped of her identity, as well as separated from her child. Equally uplifting is seeing her find a new purpose as a prison Librarian.
Readers who loved The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek and The Book Woman’s Daughter, plus fans of historical fiction and stories about the power of books and libraries, will love this one.
Book clubs will find plenty to discuss, including themes of a mother fighting systemic injustice and 1950s prison cruelty. The book’s themes of resilience, female solidarity, and the life-changing power of books will also naturally spark passionate group conversations.
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
Sourcebooks Landmark | April 21, 2026 | 384 pages | ISBN-13: 978-1464239335 | Historical Fiction
City of Widows by Nadia Hashimi
An epic novel set in Kabul around the 2021 US withdrawal and Taliban return to power. It follows a female Afghan army veteran, her daughter, a resistance commander, and a journalist as they navigate the collapse of a generation’s freedoms.
I loved that the story centers on fierce women: a former soldier, Marjan, and a combat leader, Soraya, who refuse to accept oppression quietly. The story also draws you in as mothers fight to protect their daughters.
Fans of Hashimi’s earlier book, The Pearl That Broke Its Shell, will enjoy seeing familiar characters again. And those interested in current issues affecting women will also enjoy it.
It is a great choice for book clubs because it talks about topics like women’s rights and the struggle against oppressive governments. The book is emotional and will lead to thoughtful discussions about these issues.
William Morrow | July 28, 2026 | 432 pages | ISBN-13: 978-006342354 | Historical Fiction
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson
Told from three perspectives, a historical novel inspired by real-life civil rights activist Mabel Grammer, following the “Brown Babies” adoption program for mixed-race children born to Black American soldiers and German women after World War II.
The story is deeply emotional, exploring the impossible choices mothers must make when faced with systemic cruelty, often forcing them to give up their children. As a reader, you are moved by the lifelong ache these mothers feel as they search for their children. But the story also highlights the beautiful act of choosing to love and adopt children the world has abandoned.
Fans of Johnson’s The House of Eve and Yellow Wife, and readers who gravitate toward untold WWII history and race and identity themes, will enjoy this one.
Book clubs will enjoy discussing a little-known piece of history as well as issues such as race, identity, motherhood, and belonging.
37 Ink | Feb 10, 2026 | 464 pages | ISBN-13: 978-1668069912 | Historical Fiction
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie
A historical novel about Abigail Adams – wife of President John Adams and mother of President John Quincy Adams – tracing her life from the American Revolution through her years abroad in France and Britain; a July 2026 Reese’s Book Club selection.
This story shows the intense personal sacrifices and loneliness Abigail Adams endured while helping build a new nation. She advocated for women’s rights, challenged her husband’s views, and provided essential wartime information while he was away.
Readers of Dray and Kamoie’s earlier collaborations (America’s First Daughter, My Dear Hamilton), fans of American Revolution–era fiction, and anyone interested in women’s overlooked roles in founding-era politics will enjoy this book.
Book clubs will love this novel because it will spark debates about marriage dynamics and female autonomy. There is also much to discuss about Abigail and John’s partnership and whether his public service justified abandoning his family. It may also be interesting to contrast Abigail’s balancing finances and family with modern working mothers.
William Morrow Paperbacks | May 5, 2026 | 464 pages | ISBN-13 : 978-0063234765 | Historical Fiction
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
The Lotus Shoes by Jane Yang
A debut historical novel set in 1880s China following Little Flower, a servant girl gifted at embroidery, and Linjing, the wealthy young woman she serves, as their rivalry and dependence on each other evolve across a changing era of foot binding and Western influence.
This is a story of Little Flower, a girl sold into slavery, and her owner’s daughter, Linjing. It shows the vulnerability of females and the choices forced on them by a rigid patriarchal society. It also highlights the trauma of foot binding and the pain of a mother choosing slavery for her daughter out of a sense of survival. I also loved the theme of women bonding together to fight a system.
Fans of Lisa See (especially Snow Flower and the Secret Fan), and readers who love detailed historical fiction about women’s lives, class divides, and female friendship/rivalry in Asia will love this book.
The Lotus Shoes is a great choice for book clubs. Set in 19th-century China, the story explores the harsh realities of foot-binding and the muizai system, in which impoverished families sold their young daughters to wealthy families. The clear class divide depicted in this story and a complex main character will provide plenty of material for debates about agency, privilege, and how women survive under patriarchy.
Park Row | February 10, 2026 | 384 pages | ISBN-13 : 978-0778310686 | Historical Fiction
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
Slow-Burn Mystery & Suspense
The Women in White by Sarah Pekkanen
This dual-timeline thriller draws on real 1960s academic parapsychology research. It follows four young women who disappear after ESP experiments at a university and a present-day caretaker who uncovers the truth decades later.
This book will stir up strong feelings of anger and empathy as the women face medical manipulation and emotional abuse. They also share a strong connection and use their intuition to protect one another, which anchors the entire story. Grounded in real history, the author uses research notes to create a plausible sense of danger, delivering a suspenseful story that explores themes of gender inequality, medical ethics, and female resilience.
Readers who look for books centered on tight-knit sisterhood and found families or those who enjoy reading about connections between an unlikely pair of women from totally different eras will like this one.
And for book clubs, it will spark conversations about medical ethics, institutional power, and how women’s mental health and their personal and social freedoms were handled in 1964 versus today.
St. Martin’s Press | August 4, 2026 | 304 pages | ISBN-13 : 978-1250349552 | Mystery / Suspense
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
A dual-timeline mystery suspense by Julie Clark about a memoir ghostwriter who reconnects with her estranged father, a famous horror novelist, to help him reveal the truth behind his siblings’ unsolved 1975 murders.
The story shifts between present day and the events of the tragic 1975 murders. Even though Olivia agreed to write her father’s memoir, she still carries the emotional baggage of being abandoned and ignored by him. Her father, Vincent, has Lewy Body Dementia, a brain disorder. So, part of this story is about mending a fractured relationship before time runs out. But this disorder also makes Vincent a very unreliable narrator, adding another layer to the story – is what he says trustworthy?
This book will appeal to readers who like complex family drama, unreliable narrators, or emotional mysteries. It will also appeal to those who enjoy slow-burn suspense stories and a puzzle to solve.
For book clubs, the fact that Vincent suffers from a brain disorder will spark a lot of conversation on the realities of dementia. Family secrets and morally gray areas will also spark debate. The dual timeline allows book club members to talk about the societal shifts of the 1970s -particularly through the character of Poppy, who was a passionate advocate for women’s rights during the Equal Rights Amendment.
Sourcebooks Landmark | June 3, 2025 | 368 pages | ISBN-13 : 978-1464221286 | Mystery / Suspense
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
The Heir of Whitestone by Catherine Coulter
A Victorian-era romantic mystery by Catherine Coulter, part of the Sherbrooke family series, following an amnesiac young innovator who discovers he’s a long-lost heir. At the same time, a sharp-witted noblewoman helps him uncover who wants him dead.
Pulled from the Thames as a boy with no memory of who he was, Alex has built a new life as an engineer – but soon realizes his past may be something he must survive once again.
This historical romance weaves a suspenseful mystery with witty, relatable characters. The story follows Alex and his outspoken bride, Lady Camilla. You will enjoy watching her navigate toxic dynamics within her stepfamily, while Alex grapples with trying to remember his past before it catches up with him.
A John Scognamiglio Book | February 24, 2026 | 368 pages | ISBN-13 : 978-1496760890 | Historical Romance / Mystery
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
Our August Book Club Pick
The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony
A dual-timeline historical novel about Ireland’s Magdalene laundries and mother-and-baby homes: it follows a young nun-nurse in 1950s Ireland and her granddaughter as she searches for family secrets in present-day New Jersey.
The story follows a young woman forced to become a nun as she tries to protect unwed mothers from harm. The story looks at the dark history of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. It shows how women found strength and formed bonds while facing tough situations.
Fans of dual-timeline women’s historical fiction in the vein of Kristin Hannah or Kristin Harmel – readers drawn to stories of institutional injustice, found family, and quiet female defiance. Book clubs will find the subject matter very discussion-worthy as it is based on true events.
Simon & Schuster / Gallery Books | May 12, 2026 | 368 pages | ISBN: 9781668047415 | Historical Fiction
Book Summary + Review + Book Club Questions
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Happy reading,
Linda
